Triple the Love

Late Lunch

Corey

As soon as Jack entered the restaurant, I felt worlds lighter. It was bad enough that Jacob and I had taken a late lunch since my meeting with Jaden had taken a lot more time than I had expected.

“Hey, guys,” Jack greeted us as he came by our table. Yes, I had asked the waiter to call him. No, I didn’t care. I smiled sweetly at him as I gazed into his intense gaze. I couldn’t help but notice that he looked a bit tired.

“You look…beat…” Jacob remarked before I could. Jack slowly nodded as he glanced over at me.

“Long day so far,”

“Tell me about it,” I muttered in agreement.

“Yeah?” Jack asked and I sighed softly. I couldn’t discuss it, unfortunately, but I nodded anyway. Jack reached out and touched my shoulder before he bid us a good lunch and left. When I turned my attention back to Jacob, he was smiling at me.

“What?”

“You are such a sucker,” he said, and I rolled my eyes. “No, seriously…you are so gone for that man it is unreal,”

“I thought you wanted me to be happy?” I questioned him with a raised brow. Jacob grinned, but he shook his head and picked up the menu. “No, come on now…”

“Dude…I just think it’s a bad idea…pick one,” he said without removing the menu from view. I groaned and picked up my menu. I knew what I was going to get, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that Jacob wanted me to pick. I knew I needed to pick one, but I wanted them both.

“What’s wrong with being romantically involved with both of them?” I asked as quietly as I could. Almost immediately, Jacob lowered the menu and stared at me in surprise. “I mean, how do you expect me to decide if I haven’t been…romantically involved with either of them?”

“Corey…I love you…and I understand what you are trying to say, but surely at this point…after spending as much time as you have with the both of them…surely…” his voice trailed off, and I slowly shook my head. He frowned as he studied me closely, and then he finally shrugged. “Just be careful, Corey,” he added as our waiter approached. I ended up ordering a hearty serving of beef lasagna, while Jacob ordered a chicken salad with fresh bread rolls. I was tempted to order myself a bread roll because they were absolutely delicious, but I knew how filling the lasagna was. The conversation flowed, as it usually did, but we stayed away from the topic of Jack and Hank. We also didn’t discuss work. Instead, we discussed Jessica’s pregnancy.

“Have you found out what the gender is yet?” I asked curiously as I cut into my slice of heaven.

“No, we asked her to keep it a secret,” Jacob said as he buttered his bread roll. My mouth watered as the smell of freshly baked bread hit my nose. Of course, the lasagna was divine, so I tried not to pay too much attention to the goodness across from me.

“But what about like…I don’t know…I thought you guys were going to redo the room for the baby?”

“And we are…Alastair wants to know…but I want to be surprised,” Jacob explained. The look on his face was pure happiness and I felt a flicker of hope for my possible future. I wasn’t sure if I wanted kids or not, but just the thought of having what Jacob and Alastair had made me smile.

“How is that going to work then?” I asked curiously.

“Well, Alastair is very good at keeping secrets…and I know he wants to know,” he said as he smothered another bread roll with butter. “So, right now we are in a full debate about it. Jessica knows, and she respects whatever decision we make,”

“So…the debate?”

“Well… it’s more like pros and cons,” he said, and I nodded. “For example, Alastair wants to paint the room accordingly…for a boy, blue or green. For a girl, pink or yellow. On the other hand, white is a neutral color, but cream can work too…so that’s how we argue our points,”

“Yes, I get that, but I mean, what about taking into consideration what you want? What he wants. How do you decide based on that?” I questioned curiously. Jacob hesitated, and I frowned as I continued to stare at him. “Jacob…you can’t always get what you want…relationships are about sacrifice…you told me that,” I reminded him. Jacob blushed as he started to stuff his bread roll with his chicken salad. Suddenly, the bread roll didn’t look as appetizing anymore, and I was able to enjoy my lasagna.

“Right…so…the truth is, I know Alastair wants a boy. I want a girl. I mean, I don’t really mind…boy or girl…but Alastair…he has his heart set on a boy. So…what if it’s a girl? Will he be disappointed? Will he…I don’t know…I just…it bothers me,” he whispered, and I frowned.

“J…I think you are overthinking things. Alastair probably feels the same way you do. He may be hoping for a boy, but I have a feeling he will love him or her, regardless of gender,” I said softly. Jacob slowly nodded as he thoughtfully bit into his bread roll. A piece of lettuce fell out, and I groaned as I looked away. He didn’t pay any attention to me as he continued to eat and think. I turned my attention back to my own plate and tried to ignore the mess that was happening right across from me. We finished off our meal in silence and, since it was my turn, I paid the bill. I didn’t get to see Jack again, but it didn’t matter. My mind was now filled with thoughts of work.

“Corey!” Erik called out the second we got back to the office. I groaned as I changed direction and headed to his office. “We have a problem,” he said the second I stepped inside. When I spotted Jaden sitting on the couch, I knew I was in for a long afternoon.